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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22778752">Soul Exchange</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winxhelina/pseuds/Winxhelina'>Winxhelina</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Doctor Strange (2016)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Humor, F/M, Humor, Out of Body Experiences, Self-Sacrifice, Soul Selling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 15:29:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,038</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22778752</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winxhelina/pseuds/Winxhelina</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Stephen knew he was screwed when the mist-like demon creature with red blazing eyes started talking about its willingness to make a deal. He had learned relatively early on that making deals and bargains with creatures like that ended in rather a lot of pain and suffering, but it seemed, once again, he had no other choice, through no-one's fault, but his own, he had been cocky and played himself into a corner:"All right, what's the deal then?"</p><p>Christine knew she was screwed when she heard Stephen's particular brand of scream:"Christine!" that usually meant he was dying. So much for a quiet afternoon before her night shift started...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Christine Palmer/Stephen Strange</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Soul Exchange</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/BearlyMadeIt/gifts">BearlyMadeIt</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Stephen knew he was screwed when the mist-like demon creature with red blazing eyes started talking about its willingness to make a deal. He had learned relatively early on that making deals and bargains with creatures like that ended in rather a lot of pain and suffering, but it seemed, once again, he had no other choice, through no-one's fault, but his own, he had been cocky and played himself into a corner:"All right, what's the deal then?"</p><p>Christine knew she was screwed when she heard Stephen's particular brand of :"Christine!" that usually meant he was dying. So much for a quiet afternoon before her night shift started. Stephen, who had probably appeared through a portal that was already gone by the time Christine made it to the living room looked rather battered, but Christine couldn't see any life-threatening injuries just yet, so she carefully approached him.</p><p>"I'm afraid - I've - rather fucked up - a bit," Stephen said, sounding out of breath.</p><p>"Yeah, I gathered from your tone. What's wrong?" Christine asked. A moment later, a creature, formed entirely of black mist appeared out of nowhere, making her jump and take a few steps back:"Oh, hell no..."</p><p>Stephen, who sounded less startled and more annoyed shouted at the thing:"I just want to talk to her for a moment! You don't have to follow me! I already agreed to the terms of our deal!"</p><p>"I can't have my prey run away like that!" the creature hissed.</p><p>"Prey? Deal?" Christine looked at Stephen demandingly.</p><p>"Yeah. Remember those disappearances of 16 year-old girls that have been in the news for weeks now?"</p><p>"Yeah. What about them?"</p><p>"Well, turns out they're not being taken by murderers or kidnappers or rapists, they are being targeted by these demonic creatures, who take them to the underworld and turn them into Hell Maidens..."</p><p>"Hell Maidens?" Christine repeated in a tone that she hoped would let Stephen know he was going over this way too fast.</p><p>"Yeah. Well, the good news is that's no longer happening, because I've made a deal with this guy, the bad news is the exchange rate is kind of - my soul."</p><p>"You sold your soul to the Devil?"</p><p>Stephen scoffed:"The Devil? This guy? No. Pfft. He's nowhere near the ranks of a ..."</p><p>"You sold your sold to someone <em>lesser</em> than the Devil?"</p><p>"You make it sound like a horrible deal," Stephen complained.</p><p>"It <em>is</em> a horrible deal! And at any rate what do you expect me to do about it? I'm a doctor I don't know how to... extract souls."</p><p>"No, he has that part covered. It's just that last time I had a moment at work where I had to self-sacrifice and I came home and told you about it you were all like:"You were going to go into certain death and you didn't even tell me!?" So I thought... you know, this time I'll tell you."</p><p>Christine snorted:"So you came to tell me you're about to die?"</p><p>"Well, I am not really sure what will happen when I am left without my soul, but..."</p><p>"If I may interject..." said the horrifying mist that Christine had somehow nearly forgotten was also in the room.</p><p>"You may not!" Stephen told the mist angrily.</p><p>"But if I may, you remember the exact terms of our deal was..."</p><p>"Shut up!"  Stephen screamed, slightly red-faced.</p><p>Christine had a strong feeling Stephen was leaving something important out so she smiled and said:"Stephen, let the creepy mist talk..." </p><p>"The arrangement was that we will no longer capture young maidens and bring them into the underworld if the Sorcerer Supreme gives away his soul for us to devour in return and will thus remain soulless unless he finds someone, willing to trade their soul and give it to him..." the creature explained in a hiss.</p><p>"Would my soul do?" Christine asked seriously. </p><p>"<strong><em>No</em></strong>!" Stephen roared. </p><p>"No, it won't do or no, I shouldn't trade it?" </p><p>"No, you shouldn't trade it! Christine, this is my mess to sort out that I got into due to my own stupidity, it's not yours to fix!"</p><p>"Ah, but isn't it my soul to trade with?"</p><p>"It <em>issss</em>..." the hissing mist creature agreed eagerly. He was making circles around Christine, making her shiver:"Yes, yes. This is an excellent soul. Even more selfless than the one of Sorcerer Supreme, less sins tainting it's pureness and kindness for sure... oh yes, this is an exceptional soul, not as powerful, but way more pure." the mist creature sounded as if its non-existent mouth was watering.</p><p>Christine was grinning, taunting Stephen:"I have a purer soul than you..."</p><p>"Yes, yes. As if that surprises anyone. Christine, <em>please</em>, don't do this!" Stephen begged.</p><p>"Stephen your plan is stupid. If he gets your soul and you'll have none, who will look after the peace of the world? Who will make sure he keeps his end of the deal?"</p><p>"Oh, they must, these creatures. They are bound by their promises and have to abide by them quite literally," Stephen assured:"Now please, stop."</p><p>"What do I have to do to make the trade?" Christine asked even as Stephen broke down begging and sobbing on his knees for her not to. She had never seen him beg like that ever and she tried very hard not to let that affect her decision, it wasn't like she particularly wanted to end up soulless either.</p><p>"All you have to say is that you want to trade your soul you do so willingly with no one forcing you."</p><p>"Well, the situation kind of is, but... okay... I, Doctor Christine Palmer, hereby trade my soul for the soul of Doctor Stephen Vincent Strange, willingly and of my own volition.. how's that?" Christine asked, but didn't get any kind of verbal reply, because the next moment she experienced the very strange unexplainable situation of being both in and outside of her own body. She could see two orbs, one that had a shiny pearl-like quality and other a bit more muted colour, the exact colour of Stephen's eyes, Christine realized a moment later, drifting through air, this one must have been Stephen's for she was sure the pearl one that slowly descended into her sobbing boyfriend's arms, was hers. And it was a curious thing, to both see it and feel her very being being cradled by two shaking hands:"Take care of it better than you took care of yours..." Christine said softly and felt herself cry. Tears were flowing down her cheeks freely, completely beyond her control. It didn't feel too awful, though. She would become part of Stephen, she would be his soul now. It was okay, except, then Christine saw Stephen's blue little orb, that despite of it's muted outside clearly shone very bright on the inside, float towards the mist demon and that couldn't feel good. She couldn't let it have Stephen's soul, even if Stephen had hers. So she reached out and she took it. She saw Stephen gasp with his whole being and she wondered what it must have felt like. To her it felt like holding something slightly warm, unexplainably both light and solid. </p><p>"Christine..." Stephen was whispering her name like a prayer of gratitude and she held the little ball closer, protecting it. </p><p>This, of course, angered the mist creature:"Hey! You can't do that. That soul is mine." And then Christine had a stroke of genius:"No. You said you would stop making girls into Hell Maidens, if the Sorcerer Supreme gives away his soul for you to devour in return and will thus remain soulless unless he finds someone, willing to <em>trade</em> their soul and give it to him. Trade implies both parties get something. Not to mention the fact that I said, I would trade my soul for his. So his soul is now mine. Should have paid more attention,"  said Christine, but just because she wasn't super sure how well that logic would hold she pressed the soul to her chest and thus found that instead of resting against her chest it entered her and she blacked out. </p><p>When Christine woke up again she saw her body lying on the floor in front of her, which was admittedly not the most reassuring sight to see. Was she dead? She didn't feel dead. She felt like she had a body, even if it hurt like it had recently taken a beating. </p><p>Her own body moved, looked up to her and grinned:"Oh, my clever girl," then she, Christine's body that was, frowned and looked at her hands, flexing them a few times.</p><p>Christine mirrored the movements, her hands were covered in scars, well, they weren't really hers, but they were hands she knew very well:"They still ache... after all this time..." she noted in surprise. </p><p>"Yeah, I almost forgot what it's like for them not to," she heard her own voice say and she winced at the words. Poor Stephen. </p><p>"I'm you," she said in Stephen's deep baritone.</p><p>"Yeah, well, what do you expect to happen when you press my soul into your body?" her own voice had never sounded so cocky and annoyed. Definitely Stephen then. </p><p>"But - you did the same then."</p><p>"Yes. Pretty good plan. Better than mine. Not sure the logic holds. Should hold. I don't know what happened. I blacked out. Let's just hope the mist creature didn't go to get his lawyers. Or back-up. More likely, that."</p><p>"Yeah I, thought of it at the last second," she admitted.</p><p>"Think you rather got the short end of the stick there," Stephen was looking down at Christine's body in a way she did not appreciate him doing, His hands were approaching her chest.</p><p>"Hey! Don't even think about it! Don't be creepy!"</p><p>Stephen looked back at Christine:"Interesting..."</p><p>"No, not interesting! Creepy!" Christine snapped and her voice sounded more high-pitched even in Stephen's body than his normally did. "How would you feel if I just shoved my hand down these pants..."</p><p>Stephen made a face:"Disturbed. Okay. I get your point, but you do realize you're currently looking at your own chest?"</p><p>Christine quickly corrected her gaze:"It's my own chest. I can look at it if I want to.." she argued, but she could see Stephen's point. </p><p>"You find yourself attractive, don't you?"</p><p>"Your body finds me attractive," Christine corrected.</p><p>"But you also find <em>me</em> attractive?"</p><p>"My body your body, you mean? You should be able to answer that."</p><p>"No. I mean, yes and yes it does, but no,  that's not the point. Maybe it's different for you, but my body certainly finds you attractive, a strange feeling considering I also consider you to be me, but besides that I also find <em>you</em> attractive. I'm attracted to both you and my own body. It's weird."</p><p>"Seriously, Stephen? This is what you want to focus on first thing? How about getting our souls back in the right bodies?</p><p>"Yes, that's also... necessary, but - is it different for you then?"</p><p>Christine (in Stephen's body) sighed:"No, it's not. I get exactly what you mean. Now what are we going to do about this?!"</p><p>Stephen smiled.*</p><p>"Not about our mutual attraction! Jesus! About getting ourselves in our bodies!"</p><p>"Ah. Joykill. Well, I'll go down to the Sanctum and see if I can find something to help us."</p><p>"Really? You'd like to do it with... never mind. And no, you won't."</p><p>"Excuse me?"</p><p>"You have work tonight. <em>I</em> have work tonight. A night shift."</p><p>Stephen groaned:"Oh, come on!"</p><p>"No come ons. I can't miss work. You have the skills and knowledge needed for this so you are going. End of discussion. I am going down to Sanctum myself."</p><p>"But you don't even know that much about magic! You won't know what to look for. What if the creature returns?"</p><p>"I'll do my best. You are taking my shift. You got us into this mess, so you owe me. This is still marginally better than one of us being dead. Or soulless. Whatever that's like. Much like being dead I imagine."</p><p>Much as Stephen would have loved to, he couldn't argue with any of that.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>* to avoid confusion - from this point on, Stephen means Stephen's soul in Christine's body and Christine means Christine's soul in Stephen's body,</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Yes, I know, the body switch trope has been done time and time again. I don't care, it will be fun to write and I don't think this pairing has one yet! So if you had fun reading this too I hope to see you in the comments and in the next chapter.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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